Anti-drug Bill Signed

October 28, 1986|By KEN CUMMINS, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- With a beaming Sen. Paula Hawkins looking on, President Reagan Monday signed into law a $1.7 billion anti-drug bill which he hailed as ``a victory for safer neighborhoods`` and for ``protection of the American family.``

Hawkins hopes the bill -- the most sweeping anti-drug program ever passed by Congress -- will help carry her to re-election.

During the brief signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Reagan singled out Hawkins from among the numerous members of Congress present for praise as ``a driving force behind the effort to rid our society of drug abuse.``

``She took this battle to the public,`` the president said of Hawkins, R-Fla. ``Like (First Lady) Nancy, she (Hawkins) made the commitment to fighting drugs long before it was a popular thing to do.``

But Reagan`s commendations did not quell the questions about what role Hawkins played in the formation of this bill and how much credit she deserves for its passage.

Although she has made her work on the anti-drug bill a key issue in her campaign, Hawkins was unable to answer reporters` questions about the content of the legislation when asked about specific provisions outside the White House following the signing ceremony.

She said, however, that passage of the omnibus drug-fighting proposal represented her single greatest achievement during her six years in the Senate.

``I`d say this is the best effort I could give to succeeding generations to restoring domestic tranquility,`` Hawkins said as her chief drug adviser, John Dudinsky, stood behind her and whispered into her left ear as questions were asked.

``We have to tell the American people, `Yes, we`re concerned.` We`re going to go and help those who are caught in the snare of this evil,`` Hawkins added.

The senator interrupted her campaigning to be on hand for the bill-signing ceremony after the White House turned down a request from her campaign manager, Charlie Black, to have the ceremony moved to Tampa for Reagan`s campaign stop there last Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who is campaigning hard to save the Senate seats held by Hawkins and other freshmen Republicans and prevent the Senate from falling into Democratic hands, said again Monday that Senate Democrats tried ``to discredit`` Hawkins during action on the anti-drug bill earlier this month.

``I know that the Democrats tried to isolate Sen. Hawkins from time to time,`` Dole said on the White House lawn after the bill was signed.

During a campaign stop in Orlando on Sunday, Dole, R-Kans., said that Sen. Lawton Chiles, D-Fla., and other Senate Democrats were ``playing politics`` on the bill to keep Hawkins from getting the recognition she deserves.

``There is no doubt in my mind that the Democrats have been trying to barricade Paula Hawkins,`` Dole said Sunday. ``They know she has a close race so they have been playing politics for the past few months.``

Chiles expressed surprise at Dole`s comments -- as well as similar statements made by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, while campaigning for Hawkins in Miami last Wednesday -- when asked outside the White House about the GOP senators` assertions that his main work on the drug bill was to counter Hawkins.

But Chiles refused to comment on the dispute over Hawkins` role in the passage of this legislation, telling reporters ``you all have had a chance to observe who put what in the bill and who took what role. I just ask you to reach your own conclusions.``

Chiles pointed out that his proposals calling for tougher penalties for ``crack`` cocaine, building additional prisons and giving more money for the Coast Guard`s drug interdiction efforts were all included in the bill signed by the president.

``As an interloper, I`m delighted that we were able to get all of those things that I had introduced separately included in this bill,`` added Chiles, who was invited to the signing ceremony only at the last minute Monday morning.

The bill signed into law Monday substantially increases funding for radar surveillance and interdiction of drug smugglers, provides money for new drug rehabilitation and education programs in the workplace and schools and sets mandatory life sentences for some major drug offenses.

The legislation also strengthens the ``Hawkins amendment,`` already law, which calls for cutting off foreign aid to countries that do not act to eradicate their illegal drug crops.

The senator, however, was unable to explain how the new anti-drug law would alter her original amendment, which became law in November of 1983 but was never enforced in its original form.

Hawkins was not involved in the latest modifications to her original proposal which link foreign aid, trade agreements and multilateral development bank loans to a county`s success in fighting its illegal drug problem.

DRUG BILL

Highlights of the anti-drug bill signed Monday:

-- Stiffer penalties for convictions of virtually every drug-related offense.

-- Double criminal penalties for using children to assist in selling drugs.

-- Up to 20 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine for making or distributing ``designer drugs.``

-- A new statute outlawing money laundering, carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

-- U.S. foreign aid restrictions for drug-producing countries that do not cooperate in eradication efforts.

-- $275 million for new drug treatment and rehabilitation programs.

-- $230 million in federal block grants in each of the next three fiscal years to help state and local enforcement agencies combat drugs.